WALMART DECISION WILL BE REVIEWED BY STATE

Auditor will examine whether city followed planning regulations

A state panel Wednesday approved an independent investigation into whether San Diego violated planning laws and was influenced by campaign contributions when issuing permits for a Walmart neighborhood grocery.

The probe, which will be broadened in scope to include other applications since 2010, will cost taxpayers $274,000 and take 2,746 staff hours to complete, according to State Auditor Elaine Howle.

The probe was requested in June by Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, three days after The Watchdog highlighted $45,000 in campaign contributions to Mayor Jerry Sanders’ pension overhaul ballot measure — half as the permit approval started, and half when it was complete.

The mayor’s office says there is no connection between donations and market approval, and says the store will provide much-needed jobs and shopping options for the area.

“Given the hundreds of millions of dollars that are magically appearing in Sacramento these days, perhaps Mr. Hueso should spend more time auditing his own state departments instead of ours,” Sanders spokesman Darren Pudgil said by email, referring to the recent discovery of unaccounted for state money.

The store, now under construction at Imperial Avenue and 21st Street, is to open early next year.

The Watchdog report revealed not just the timing of the approvals, but also the apparent requirement that no exterior changes be made to the old farmer’s market on the site — which was substantially altered during construction.

“There’s been a violation of the law in the way this project was handled,” Hueso said in an interview before the hearing. “The evidence is overwhelming.”

Hueso said the market permit was the impetus for the audit request, but that there are a number of other examples where the city may have bypassed normal planning channels and shut out disadvantaged communities from voicing opposition.

The Democrat-dominated audit panel approved the review on a party-line 8-5 vote, the final approval needed for Howle to proceed.

Sen. Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, opposed the investigation, saying, “This audit can only be described as a state-sponsored bullying of local government.”

The auditor has been directed to answer a number of questions that go beyond the Walmart controversy, such as whether planners are improperly influenced by the mayor’s policy that San Diego is a “business friendly” city, and whether project approvals are sped up when located in an underserved neighborhood.

“The state has a legitimate interest in protecting the public’s right to know,” said Hueso, a former City Council president, who said his requests for the city to do a review went ignored.

Christian Ramirez, a resident of Logan Heights, told the panel there was little, if any, public notice of the Walmart project.

“We heard about the project months after the permits were approved,” Ramirez said. He said residents received little cooperation from the city and developers when they organized town hall meetings.

“Unfortunately, the only time we heard from the developer was when the wrecking balls started destroying an iconic building, a historic building, that’s been cherished by that community for generations,” Ramirez said.